Third-party auditor liability risk and trade credit policies

We investigate the effect of Third-Party Auditor Liability (TPAL) risk on firms' trade credit policies. Exploiting the staggered state-level changes to TPAL in the US as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that firms in states with a higher risk of TPAL increase their use of trade credit. This relationship is more pronounced for firms with a more enhanced information environment, those with greater financial constraints, and those whose auditors are more exposed to litigation risk. Overall, our findings provide evidence of how TPAL affects firms' short-term financing needs.